41-23666

B-24 Liberator

B-24D-1-CO 41-23666 [AG:s] was assigned to the 93BG/330BS at Hardwick, UK. on 18-Mar-43 the aircraft was despatched on a mission to bombe the port facilities at Vegesack, Germany. The aircraft sustained battle damage over the target and crashed near Wardenburg, Germany near the Kusten Kanal. 9KIA 1POW MACR 15595.

Service

Units

Group93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1-March-1942 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15-May-1942 the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida to continue advanced flight training and also to fly anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico; they...

People

Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner ; Flight Engineer | 93rd Bomb GroupKilled in Action (KIA) 18 March 1943. Shot down in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110s as well as flak...

Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 #4123666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator Gunner | 93rd Bomb GroupShot down 18 March 1943 in B-24 41-23666 'Hot Freight. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Flying in the diamond position of the lead element on a mission to Vegesack, Germany shipbuilding works, the plane took frontal attacks from ME-110 as well as flak attacks...

Missions

18 March 1943The U-Boat pens at Vegesack-Bremen are the primary target of this mission. 76 B-17s are despatched: 91BG (18); 303BG (20); 305BG (18) and 306BG (20). These are joined by 17 B-24's: 44BG (9) and 93BG (15). Of the 103 aircraft despatched 97 are effective...

Places

Military site : airfieldPlanned as an RAF bomber airfield, Hardwick was used first by the 310th Bomb Group, equipped with B-25 Mitchells. In December 1943, the B-24 Liberators of the 93rd Bomb Group moved in, and remained until the end of the war, flying over 330 missions....

Events

Event

Location

Date

Failed to Return (FTR)

Wardenburg, Germany

18 March 1943

Sustained battle damage in attack on Vegesack, Germany and crashed near Wardenburg, Germany

Revisions

Lee Cunningham 3-Aug-2015. Added Nickname Markings and Description based on "Losses of the 9th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; added FTR event per MACR15595.